As Lady Gaga was performing in town earlier this week, my Facebook friends politely reminded me what a great concert I missed. The many status updates, photos, and even videos from the concert pulled at my heartstrings. I totally felt like the little brother who’s not cool enough to go to the older brother’s party (a.k.a. those tickets are pricey!). With Lady Gaga on my radar, I found a blog post from CasaSugar that compares her distinctly different style to some of today’s latest home trends, and I think the similarities are hilarious.  See my favorites from their post below…and…

In this industry, we spend our days thinking about how to make homes beautiful. After a year and a half of living in LIC, I’m finally satisfied with my decor- so I’m now focusing on keeping the place sparkling clean. I try to buy earth-friendly cleaning products (I swear by Clorox Green Works glass cleaner and dish soap) whenever I can, but sometimes you need something a little stronger.  Anyone who has chosen white Caesarstone counters knows that strawberries, ice cream, tomato sauce and a host of other colorful comestibles leave ugly stains. I’m not exaggerating when I say that…

Tuesday was another big evening for V+P- we headed over to Davis & Warshow for the latest installation of Show Snapshots: KBIS, a fabulous event co-hosted by our friends at Interior Design. Despite the heat, the design community came in droves to hear Mark McMenamin and Deborah Wilk weigh in on the top trends from K/BIS 2010. The pair were perfect together- Deborah’s wry comments on the synergy between fashion and home furnishings were spot-on, while Mark shared nearly 50 smart, stylish new kitchen and bath products from the show. The night was particularly special since Guide 85, a designers’…

The Caniato family is back from our annual pilgrimage to Tuscany, where we stayed at the beloved Le Torre Alle Tolfe estate just outside of Siena. It’s named for its tall tower that was once the highest look-out point between borders during some of Italy’s greatest battles. Today it is simply a paradise to us and we are lucky to share it with family and friends. How great is a life that revolves around the table?  In Tuscany there appears to be a table ready for dining around every corner, inside the villas and outside. I am now striving to…

Last week, I attended Maison France—a pop-up exhibition by 30 French manufacturers of luxury housewares, including furniture, tableware, lighting and textiles. Organized by the French Trade Commission Ubifrance, the 3-day design showcase gave me several reasons to “ooh-la-la” for French design. Although I got slightly misdirected on my way to Maison, the large banner and–instead of red, purple–carpet signaled that I had made it to the right building: Not only was my welcome colored this royal hue, the whole exhibit was wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling pourpre: I visited quite a few displays, but my three French favorites include an abstract, the letter…

I’ve read the arguments for the city’s best baseball team, and have based my decision on something completely arbitrary (in the spirit of this great debate.) Here it is. Josh wins, because he worked in candy. Nicole almost took the win with a fun spot for cocktails, but Baby Ruth’s sweet, salty goodness tipped the scales in favor of the Yanks. Editor’s note: The origin of Baby Ruth’s name is hotly debated. The bar’s creator, Curtiss Candy Company, claimed it was named for President Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth, but that doesn’t make much sense since it was 17 years after…

In addition to Major League Baseball (see Nicole and Josh’s heated debate below), V+P is also hot on following the World Cup. You had no idea we were such sports fans, did you?! Well, maybe the truth is that we like wearing face paint (even of the digital persuasion) and a good office competition. Enter: V+P’s World Cup allegiances! As you may already know, the V+P team loves placing bets–Nicole won a STEAK last week! The winner of this contest (I’m declaring as I write this…) is going to win the Crumbs “World Cup” cupcake, funded by the two losing…

As Josh mentioned last week, we both attended our first NYC-area baseball games. And yes, a great debate and rivalry has begun. But, let’s be honest, even if the Yanks have 27 championships (yawn) they don’t need any more fans. Thus, after my first game, I’ve decided to pledge my loyalty to the orange-and-blue. Actually, my loyalty to orange and blue started more than 10 years ago, when I was a freshman at the University of Florida, so it’s really only natural that I continue cheering for teams in the same color palette. Hey — if it ain’t broke —…

On a recent weekend getaway to New York’s Catskills, I fulfilled several of my most secret dreams, dancing the night away like Frances “Baby” Houseman and catching a glimpse of one of the rarest of celebrities… well, read on and you’ll see. A Berkshires girl myself, I was lured to the lovely mountain town of Fleischmanns, New York with the promise of a dinner dance and silent auction,  a stay in a quiet bed and breakfast and huge pancakes. I’d highly recommend the beautiful Breezy Hill Inn, which featured a lovely, soothing palette of Benjamin Moore colors (People tell us…

We just wrapped up day two of NeoCon, and I had planned to dedicate this post to telling you about another amazing day (and it was). But as I headed to the airport I experienced something so moving, I’d like to share it. As I headed to my gate, exhausted from two days and nearly 20 press visits, all I wanted to do was eat my snack wrap. Then I saw a crowd of people huddled by a long stretch of windows. I assumed a dignitary or celebrity was outside, and my nosy nature took over, so I had to…